True confidence comes from within and can liberate you to vocalize and present your authentic self to the world. Whilst shyness is sometimes perfectly natural, if it is chronic and indiscriminate it can inhibit us whereby we fall short of being our true selves.

 

Throughout the series we will be looking at ways we can develop lasting confidence, but here are a few tips if you often feel shy around others:

 

• Don’t admit you’re shy
• Don’t label yourself as shy, thereby limiting your self-identity
• Tell your inner critic it’s not needed anymore
• Ask questions and let others do the legwork in conversation
• Consider taking acting classes

 

It’s worth remembering though that shyness isn’t a flaw in any way – it is simply an inhibited state and is neither good nor bad. I would encourage you to only work on your shyness and becoming more confident if you feel it is restricting your social interactions, damaging you emotionally or you genuinely desire more confidence.

 

Do you consider yourself shy? Do these four steps seem helpful and if so do you plan to test them out? If you used to be shy how did you overcome it – can you share your tips? Please share your thoughts in the comments below to gain encouragement, insight and support from our community, we’d love to hear from you.